Don Ford vs. Ben Simmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Simmons and Don Ford, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Don Ford played 7 years in the NBA, 1 more than Ben Simmons, who played 6. Don Ford had the first of his seasons in 1975-76, while Ben Simmons had his rookie season in 2017-18. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Don Ford 7 3 1975-76 to 1981-82
Ben Simmons 6 3 2017-18 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7

Rookie Season

Don Ford Ben Simmons
Season 1975-762017-18
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Did Not Play76ers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 76 24.2 9.6 1.6 2.8 4.4 1.5 0.7 0.2 - 2.4 4.1 9.3 .438 - - - 1.4 1.8 .748
Ben Simmons 81 33.7 15.8 1.8 6.3 8.1 8.2 1.7 0.9 3.4 2.6 6.7 12.3 .545 0.0 0.1 .000 2.4 4.2 .560
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford ------- --- ----------
Ben Simmons 10 36.9 16.3 1.6 7.8 9.4 7.7 1.7 0.8 4.4 3.4 6.1 12.5 .488 0.0 0.1 .000 4.1 5.8 .707

Season 2

Don Ford Ben Simmons
Season 1976-772018-19
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf Finals76ers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 82 21.7 7.3 1.3 3.0 4.3 1.6 0.7 0.3 - 2.1 3.2 7.0 .460 - - - 0.9 1.2 .716
Ben Simmons 79 34.2 16.9 2.2 6.6 8.8 7.7 1.4 0.8 3.5 2.6 6.8 12.2 .563 0.0 0.1 .000 3.3 5.4 .600
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 11 30.3 10.1 2.0 3.3 5.3 3.4 1.5 0.4 - 2.5 3.8 8.9 .429 - - - 2.5 3.3 .750
Ben Simmons 12 35.1 13.9 1.9 5.1 7.0 6.0 1.3 1.0 2.7 3.8 6.0 9.7 .621 0.0 0.0 - 1.9 3.3 .575

Season 3

Don Ford Ben Simmons
Season 1977-782019-20
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Steals Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 79 24.6 7.7 1.3 3.1 4.5 1.8 0.9 0.6 1.1 2.7 3.4 7.3 .472 - - - 0.9 1.1 .756
Ben Simmons 57 35.4 16.4 2.0 5.8 7.8 8.0 2.1 0.6 3.5 3.3 6.6 11.4 .580 0.0 0.1 .286 3.2 5.2 .621
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 1 10.0 0.0 2.0 3.0 5.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 0.0 3.0 .000 - - - 0.0 0.0 -
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Don Ford Ben Simmons
Season 1978-792020-21
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf Semis76ers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 79 19.5 6.7 1.1 2.3 3.4 1.3 0.6 0.3 1.2 2.2 2.9 5.7 .507 - - - 0.9 1.1 .809
Ben Simmons 58 32.4 14.3 1.6 5.6 7.2 6.9 1.6 0.6 3.0 2.9 5.6 10.1 .557 0.1 0.2 .300 3.0 4.9 .613
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 8 17.3 4.1 0.3 2.5 2.8 0.9 0.4 0.3 0.5 2.5 2.0 3.8 .533 - - - 0.1 0.4 .333
Ben Simmons 12 33.5 11.9 2.1 5.8 7.9 8.8 1.3 0.8 2.3 3.3 4.9 7.9 .621 0.0 0.1 .000 2.1 6.1 .342

Note: Ben Simmons didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 5

Don Ford Ben Simmons
Season 1979-802022-23
Team Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland CavaliersBrooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 73 13.7 4.2 0.6 1.9 2.5 0.9 0.3 0.3 0.7 1.8 1.8 3.8 .478 0.0 0.0 .333 0.6 0.7 .849
Ben Simmons 42 26.3 6.9 1.0 5.3 6.3 6.1 1.3 0.6 2.3 3.3 3.2 5.6 .566 0.0 0.0 .000 0.6 1.4 .439
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford ------- --- ----------
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Don Ford Ben Simmons
Season 1980-812023-24
Team Cleveland CavaliersBrooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 64 15.6 3.5 1.2 1.4 2.6 1.3 0.2 0.2 0.8 1.6 1.6 3.5 .446 0.0 0.0 .000 0.3 0.4 .917
Ben Simmons 15 23.9 6.1 2.1 5.9 7.9 5.7 0.8 0.6 1.8 2.4 2.9 4.9 .581 0.0 0.0 - 0.4 1.0 .400
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford ------- --- ----------
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Don Ford Ben Simmons
Season 1981-82-
Team Cleveland Cavaliers-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford 21 9.6 1.1 0.7 1.0 1.7 0.5 0.4 0.0 0.7 1.4 0.4 1.1 .375 0.0 0.0 .000 0.2 0.3 .833
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Don Ford ------- --- ----------
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------